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5 Benefits of Attending Traffic School

Posted: Friday, July 6th, 2018 at 9:42 pm

5 Benefits of Attending Traffic School

Many people think that attending traffic school is a mandatory requirement reserved for lawbreakers only. Others feel that no benefit can come from traffic school or that it’s a waste of time. Regardless of the many myths surrounding the idea of traffic school, the truth is that opting to attend traffic school – often called defensive driving school – can be very beneficial. Traffic school offers students a variety of opportunities. From reducing your ticket fines to improving your insurance rates, traffic school can help you in many ways. While traffic school may not be the most exciting way to spend your time, if you’re facing serious penalties or you want to offset your driving mistakes, it’s worth a try. Here are five ways attending traffic school can help you.

Avoid License Suspension

Most states assign a certain amount of points to individual driving infractions. If you accrue a certain number of points within a given time frame, usually 18 months, you can face serious consequences including the suspension of your license. In many states you’re able to attend traffic school and remove some of the points on your license. Once the points are removed, your risk of losing your license typically decreases substantially. While offsetting the points that put you over the limit might not be enough to convince the court to let you keep your license, it does show that you’re making attempts to rectify the situation, and that tends to sit favorably with traffic court judges.

Lower Ticket Fines

It’s easy to make a mistake and wind up getting a ticket. Unfortunately, those tickets can come with steep fines. In some states, going to traffic school can help you reduce your fines. Make sure to contact the court clerk in your area to confirm that traffic school is an option before you sign up and pay for traffic school. You can usually complete your traffic school courses online, which means you can minimize your fees from the comfort of your home.

Decrease Your Insurance Rates

You don’t always have to take defensive driving classes just because you were charged with breaking the law. Some insurance companies will offer their customers lower rates if they opt to complete defensive driving courses. Make sure to find out if you can take online courses to obtain the discount. Some companies require in-person classes. Still others require you to take classes only from certain providers or schools. Traffic school may be an inconvenience, but obtaining lower insurance rates just might be worth your time.

Bolster Your Defensive Driving Skills

Traffic school teaches you about more than just your state’s traffic regulations. In fact, you can learn crucial defensive driving techniques that can help you protect yourself, your loved ones, and other drivers as you navigate the roads. You’ll also receive hazard prevention training and learn how to react more quickly in an emergency situation. In a society where drivers are more distracted than ever and distracted driving-related accidents are on the rise, these skills just might save your life or the lives of your family members.

Improve Your Overall Driving Record

Offsetting points against your license isn’t only valuable in the face of potential license suspension. Even if you only have a few points on your record, offsetting those points is still a good idea. Maybe you got into a fender bender and it hurt your driving record because you were found to be at fault. Whatever the case, improving your driving record can help you lower your insurance rate and show that you’re making an effort to drive defensively. Attending traffic school can help you improve your driving record and is typically looked at favorably should you be ticketed or involved in an accident in the future.

Only you can decide whether optional traffic school is right for you. Keep in mind that not all traffic schools are created equal. Many states only acknowledge traffic school courses offered by certain companies or that have specific characteristics. Make sure you contact your court clerk and find out which traffic schools your state recognizes before spending time and money on classes.

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